Rabbi Shimon and the “Keter Shem Tob” Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai teaches us in Pirkeh Abot (4:13), “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of Kehuna, and the crown of kingship. But the...
This week’s parsha, Emor, tells us about HaShem’s eternal gift to Bnei Yisroel. The gift of Shabbos. “Sheishes yomim tay’aseh melacha, Six days you shall do work, u’vayom ha’shvii Shabbos Shabboson mikra kodesh, and the...
Every evening, I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway. -- Mary C. Crowley God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages. -- Jacques Deval The...
We just finished celebrating a Yom Tov during which we said in davening and Kiddush, over and over again, Asher bachar banu mi’kol am, You have chosen us from all the nations. We may have said it, but...
INGREDIENTS: Gefen Puff Pastry Chopped Shawarma Caramelized Onions 1 Egg Sesame Seeds DIRECTIONS: I had made Shawarma for dinner one night this week and had leftovers, so rather than go to waste, I decided to repurpose them into a...
Given the display of moral decline in the most elite universities, there is no better time to reassess the age-old question of whether it is halachically permissible to attend college and university. This involves a careful consideration of...
Dear Rabbi and Shira, Thank you so much for your column. I enjoy reading it each week. I have been in the dating parsha for about a year now. My problem is...
The Gemorah says that one may not earn money on Shabbos. Money earned on Shabbos is called sechar shabbos and is prohibited in order to prevent one from conducting business on Shabbos. The issur of sechar shabbos is even if the...
I. Employment and Slavery The issue of drafting Israeli yeshiva students into the IDF is a perennial political topic. I would like to discuss a related topic but without any political connection. In order to survive, a country has...
At the end of Parashat Emor, the Torah tells an upsetting story about a man from Beneh Yisrael who got into a fight, and as a result, he publicly cursed Hashem, Heaven forbid. The Rabbis explain that...